Why you should have an INTEREST in PINTEREST

A few months ago a new friend of mine, Lauren Dargan, introduced me to a fairly new site called PINTEREST. I was immediately hooked! Who isn’t? I loved the idea, the layout, the addiction… But could you use it for business? Well with the recent boom in PINTERST users people are figuring out a way to make that happen.

Here is an interesting article from Entrepreneur Magazine. Let me know if you find this Pinteresting…

How Pinterest is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business

Move over Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Anothersocial media site is stepping up as a valuable marketing tool for businesses.

Pinterest, an online bulletin board for your favorite images, launched in 2010 and is already experiencing wild growth. The site registered more than 7 million unique visitors in December, up from 1.6 million in September.

And it’s driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to a recent reportfrom Cambridge, Mass.-based content-sharing site Shareaholic.

Why should small businesses care? To answer that, you first have to understand how consumers are using the site. Pinterest allows you to organize images — maybe pretty sunrises or wines you’ve tasted — into boards for specific categories. When you “pin” something new, your followers will see it. They can like, comment or re-pin it to their boards. Like Facebook content, your Pinterest pins can go viral.

Brides-to-be can pin pictures of different wedding dresses to review, and people shopping for a new car can pin images of their options. When I joined Pinterest I started a board to show the Major League Baseball stadiums I’ve visited. The possibilities are unlimited.

Here’s a look at why some business owners — particularly retailers — might want to seriously consider starting a business profile on Pinterest now.

How It’s Being Used
Perhaps the most powerful business application is the ability to post images of your company’s products on your Pinterest board and link them back to your website. It works as a sort of virtual store catalog.

But remember that this is social media. If you simply display images of your products without contributing other content or sharing other users’ pins, you’ll likely find that people don’t pay much attention. After all, no one likes a self-absorbed blowhard.

But savvy social media users know not to get too promotional. For example, Whole Foods Marketpins pictures of delicious-looking food, food art and images of recycled or reused products to inspire customers to be environmentally responsible. Daniel Gordon, who runs Samuel Gordon Jewelers in Oklahoma City, pins pictures of his rings and watches, but he also has a board for images that make him laugh and other types of products he loves.